Off day news and notes

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Hedo Turkoglu is no sure thing to take the court tomorrow night against the Wizards.

"Magic small forward Hedo Turkoglu said his sore left foot was feeling better after sitting out Wednesday night’s game against the Bulls. “It’s better, so I’ll try it again (before Friday’s game at Washington),” he said after Thursday’s light workout. “I hope to play. I don’t want to miss any games.”"

I think the Magic shouldn’t rush Hedo back to play against the Wizards. That’s a game the team can win without him, let him stay in Orlando and rest so he can be ready for Sunday’s game against the Jazz. Brian Schmitz also takes a look at Marcin Gortat in this feature.

"Usually, Gortat serves as Howard’s backup for the Orlando Magic, relegated to the few minutes that are available. So when Howard checked back into Sunday’s game against the Boston Celtics to start the second quarter, Gortat assumed he’d be heading to the bench. “I was surprised when I saw Dwight come in and not point to me,” Gortat said. “He was coming in for somebody else [Rashard Lewis]. I was like, ‘Wow. I’m playing with Dwight. I can’t [mess] up.'”"

I’ve written here before that I like what Marcin brings to the Magic, with out without Dwight last night. The only thing I’m starting to worry about now is whether or not the Magic can afford to keep him this offseason when he becomes a free agent. Kyle Hightower has a short notebook, that including this note on Rashard Lewis’ poor shooting performance last night.

"All things must pass. Lewis’ streak of making at least one 3-pointer in 56 straight games came to an end against the Bulls. Lewis was 0-for-9 from the field Wednesday with just three points — all from the free-throw line. The last time Lewis failed to make a trey was Nov. 10 against Portland when he went 0-for-5. The record for most consecutive games with a 3-pointer is 79, set by Dennis Scott (from April 19, 1995, to April 7, 1996)."

Ball Don’t Lie’s create-a-cap contest features Stan Van Gundy and Rashard Lewis. Matt Watson at Fanhouse talks about Dwight making history.

"Dwight Howard is on the verge of making history and no one seems to notice. He’s averaging 2.9 blocks and 14.0 rebounds a game, putting him on pace to become not only the youngest player to lead the league in blocked shots (beating out Marcus Camby by nearly a year) but also only the fifth player in NBA history to lead the league in blocks and rebounds in the same season."

HoopsWorld’s Steve Kyler talks about the possiblity of Turkoglu leaving Orlando during free agency this summer.

"Will Orlando Re-Sign Turkoglu: Hedo Turkoglu will opt out of the final year of his contract this July and will become an unrestricted free agent. This has not been a huge secret; everyone has openly discussed this since the start of training camp in October. Sources close to this situation say Hedo’s camp is looking for a deal in the $10 million per season range, and that the Magic were talking about a deal in the $7.5 million range…"

Sentinel columnist David Whitley continues the “damn you kids and your music” complaint about the in-game experience at Amway Arena.

"“Games like Wednesday can use a little artificial stimulation, but I can’t let that keep me from complaining like a geezer. I came to hear basketball. Instead I heard organ music, rock music, rap music and the musical stylings of announcer Paul Porter.”"

I’m not a big fan of the non-stop sound effects and music, but it’s not exactly something I think about when I’m at the games. I watched the game on TV last night and noticed a big difference. Do you think the noise at Amway is too loud?